Phantoms of the Otherworld (In Spiritu Et Veritate)

by Reed, Zoe

“It’s for the best,” she said, staring after the entrance of the house. “I know it.” But she sounded like she was having a hard time entirely convincing herself.

  “That doesn’t mean it can’t hurt,” I told her.

  In response Kyla sniffled once more and wiped at her eyes. “I’m just,” she paused to look at me briefly with those watery green eyes, “I’m going to go lie down.” Maybe it was kind of selfish of me, but as I nodded and watched her disappear up the stairs, I hoped she wouldn’t hate me for this some day.

  ***

  “Hey, don’t fall asleep on me.” I finally woke up in the passenger seat and gave Kyla a flick on the earlobe, holding back a laugh as it jolted her from her thoughts.

  “Don’t worry, I’m awake,” she chuckled reassuringly after blinking away her surprise.

  I was bewildered this morning with how much Kyla’s mood seemed to have shifted since the night before. Of course she wasn’t overjoyed about having to leave, but I think the biggest help was that she felt some sense of closure because of the note she’d written. We both knew the consequences of her leaving again, and even though she’d promised, part of me wondered if after this she’d ever want to go back home. After only two months of her first absence she’d been terrified of returning, and there was the possibility that training with the Pack could take much longer. But she didn’t seem to want to think about what this decision meant for the future – she knew she needed help now.

  I assumed part of her being so okay with all of this was because she wasn’t going alone. When Kyla arrived at my house early that morning to find me loading the jeep with a few boxes of my own clothes, she was clearly shocked. After that shock had subsided she seemed genuinely excited that I was going, which didn’t do much to enlighten my confusion on her feelings for me.

  Occasionally she seemed comfortable with me, so much sometimes that it killed me, and I shied away from her. It was those times she grew frustrated. She didn’t show it, she was good at hiding it, but I could feel it, and I didn’t understand. After all, it was her who’d broken up with me, and I could never come to terms with it if I felt like there was hope. Sometimes I thought it might just be easier if she really did hate me for bringing her into this life.

  “Do you want to switch?” I stretched my arms as far out in front of me as I could and yawned.

  She squinted at the GPS that hung in the windshield. “No, you already drove for like seven hours, and we’re almost there.” We’d left at six in the morning, and I’d driven until one o’clock when we stopped for lunch. It was now six-thirty in the afternoon, and Kyla was about to exit the highway. “How was your nap?”

  “Refreshing.” My stomach burned with hunger as it let out a loud growl. “I’m starving.”

  Kyla vigorously nodded her head in agreement. “Ever since Luna Changed me, I eat so much. I’m surprised I haven’t gained a million pounds.”

  I turned my head toward the window so Kyla wouldn’t see me wince. Every time she mentioned Luna Changing her it caused a flurry of pain and unease. I knew I should probably tell her that it wasn’t Luna who’d bitten her, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I was afraid of her knowing the truth. Afraid she’d think I’d done it for selfish reasons, to force her to stick around even after she’d broken up with me.

  I cleared my throat and then chuckled nervously to fill the awkward silence I’d created. “Yeah, well, werewolf metabolism. One of my favorite perks.”

  A shiver traveled down my spine. Whether it was the tangible tension between Kyla and I or the fact that the cold air was seeping through a small tear in the roof of the soft-top jeep, I wasn’t sure, but I turned up the heat and leaned my head against the window for the remainder of the drive. As I stared out into the forest that lined the empty road we were on, I was starting to get a little jubilant. When I’d lived in Oregon, years before moving to California, my favorite thing had been the striking density of the woods that surrounded the area. Especially now in the winter, when most of the evergreen trees were covered in snow, the forest was thick and spectacular, and the deep layer of frost that blanketed the seemingly unending wilderness provided a comforting sense of mystery and refuge.

  “It’s beautiful,” Kyla said softly, as she must have noticed my gaze.

  “Yeah.” I couldn’t help but grin, suddenly growing impatient to be out of the car. “I can’t wait to run in it.”

  She slowed the jeep and turned right onto a familiar, smaller gravel road. “Looks like you won’t have to wait much longer.” No longer needing the GPS, she took it from the windshield and stowed it in the glove box.

  We were on the small road for a good eight minutes before it stemmed off to an even smaller, unpaved driveway. I nearly bounced in my seat when the house at the end corner of it came into view. The massive two-story home was entirely made of gray stone with large, clear windows dotting the outside. The setting sun glimmered through the only opening of trees around the house, illuminating the frosted stone and acting as a spotlight on our magnificent fortress.

  I pointed to a paved clearing beside the house where a couple other cars were parked, letting Kyla know to pull in there. Niko hadn’t been too bummed about letting us take his jeep seeing as he’d been looking to get a new vehicle for a while. I waited borderline impatiently for Kyla to drive up next to the other cars, and the second she shifted into park I jumped out and took a huge breath of the crisp air. There was something about snow that made everything fresh and new. Pure. It cleansed the world of everything dark and dirty, leaving only the fresh scent of unpolluted air and frozen forest.

  I started toward the front door of the house, but stopped when I felt something was missing. I turned and laughed when I realized it was Kyla. “Don’t worry, you’ll get the chance to explore,” I assured the girl, who was slowly twirling and staring with awe in every direction into the forest.

  She gave an apologetic smile for getting sidetracked, and followed me up the short stone steps to the large wooden door. “Should we knock?”

  “No,” I answered as I twisted the handle and slowly pushed open the door. “We’re family.” The warm air and fragrance of familiar werewolves flooded my nostrils as we walked in. We strode along the dark wood floor farther into the grand entranceway, which was lined on either side by stairs, straining our ears for the sound of anyone in the house. “Hello! Eli?”

  A door opened from the second floor, and light footsteps thudded down the hall until a head peeked over the balcony. “Camille!” The slightly younger girl’s bright brown eyes filled with excitement, and her black hair flowed behind her as she sprinted down the stairs. “My dad told me you were coming!” Even though she was a good four inches shorter than me, she almost managed to knock me over when she wrapped her arms around my neck in a fierce hug.

  After spinning the girl around in an embrace I set her back down and grinned. “Don’t act too disappointed to see me,” I teased, and then watched as her eyes fixed curiously on Kyla. “Lacey, this is Kyla. Kyla, Lacey.”

  “Oh,” Lacey drawled mischievously. “Dad said you had a new girlfriend.”

  “Uh, no,” I barely managed to choke as both Kyla and I’s faces flushed bright red, and I uncomfortably cleared my throat. “Is your dad home?”

  Lacey tensed the bottom of her lip down in an apologetic wince. “Yeah, he’s around here somewhere. I’ll take you guys to the kitchen and then see if I can find him for you.” She turned and led us under the left staircase and through a large set of double doors on the left. “Kyla, are you going to school with us now?” Kyla nodded. “What grade are you?”

  “I’m a junior,” she answered, and sat in a stool next to me at the dining room side of the bar that separated the kitchen from the dining room. “What about you?”

  “Sophomore. I bet you guys are starving.” Lacey opened the enormous refrigerator and began to pull out large bags of deli meat and cheese slices, throwing them onto the bar top. Then, mumbling to herself about food
groups, she grabbed a large box of assorted berries and set it next to the meat and cheese. “I’ll go find my dad. Be back in a minute.”

  I watched my enthusiastic friend skip out of the kitchen, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Kyla start to reach into the box of berries. I slapped her on the back of the hand, laughing in amusement at the startled glare she gave me. “I’d wait. Alpha always eats first, as long as he’s coming to join us we should make sure he’s already eaten.”

  “Oh.” Kyla pulled her hand away, and her stomach growled angrily at nearly having food.

  I was just as famished, and with all the savory food sitting there in front of us I couldn’t deny that it was dreadfully tempting not to wait. Luckily, Eli didn’t keep us waiting for too long – he and Lacey entered the kitchen a couple minutes later.

  “Camille.” He grinned happily as he gave me a gentle hug. I didn’t know what it was about Eli, but he seemed to have gotten younger since I’d seen him a few months before. His mahogany hair seemed to have lost some of its gray, and his hazel eyes shone brighter than ever. It had to be the season, I always remembered him being especially fond of winter. “And Kyla, it’s good to see you again.” Eli extended his hand, offering it to Kyla to shake.

  For some reason, though I’d never known Kyla to be uncomfortable at being touched, she cringed at the movement, and I couldn’t help but wonder what had changed. Maybe being bitten had made her more sensitive to it. After releasing Kyla’s hand, Eli then leaned against the kitchen counter next to his daughter.

  I exaggeratedly glanced from him to the food. “Have you eaten?”

  His face filled with surprise as he noticed for the first time all the food in front of us. “Oh yes, yes of course. Please, dig in.” I nodded the ‘okay’ to Kyla, and we began to scarf down our much-awaited dinner. He gave us a few minutes to slow down on eating, and then started the conversation again. “How was the drive up here?”

  My mouth was full of food, so I nodded at Kyla to answer for me. “It wasn’t bad,” she told him. “It’s a beautiful drive.”

  Eli’s eyes lit up knowingly. “You’ll find that Oregon is a beautiful place. Have you guys seen the school yet?” When both of us shook our heads he got up and walked to the far end of the kitchen counter, where there was a small stack of papers. After grabbing the stack he returned to his spot near us. “I’ve enrolled both of you. You’ll have different classes than you did in California, and it might be hard catching up with the curriculum, but you’ll only be graded for the work here on out. Nearly all of the students, including Lacey, live at the campus on the weekdays. Is it safe to assume that’s okay with the two of you?”

  I gulped down my food and looked to Kyla to see if she was okay with it, and receiving a slight nod I smiled at Eli. “That’s fine.”

  “The weekends,” he started thoughtfully, and popped a berry into his mouth. “I’m guessing all your belongings will be in your rooms, it’s not at all uncommon for students to stay on the weekends either. Most of them are from out of state.” He waited for each of us to nod again in acknowledgement, and then shuffled through the papers in front of him and pulled out two pink and two white sheets. “These pink ones are your schedules, and the white ones here are your dorm room numbers and rules. The key is attached.” He pointed to the keys that were taped to each of the white sheets of paper. “I couldn’t get you guys neighboring rooms, but they’re only one floor apart.”

  Kyla pulled her key out from under the tape and looked at it happily. “Thank you, Eli.”

  “Sure,” he said, waving it off like it was no big deal. “It’s not a problem. Lacey, help me put this food away.” Noticing that Kyla and I had stopped eating, he stood and started to put the items back into the refrigerator. “Now, Kyla,” he started when he was satisfied, grabbing two bottles of water out before he closed it and handing them to Kyla and I. Then he grabbed a manila envelope off the counter and brought it over. “The way everything played out with your family, I had to secure you new identification – for safety reasons.”

  “Okay,” Kyla said unsurely, and then for clarification asked, “Identification?”

  Eli nodded, opening the manila envelope and dumping its contents onto the top of the bar. “Yes, new drivers license, birth certificate, social security card, and passport.”

  “Oh,” Kyla said slowly, picking up her new drivers license to look at it. “Kyla Zade.”

  I’d lifted the bottle of water to my lips to take a sip, but when Kyla read the name on her license it went down the wrong pipe, and now I was coughing violently. I put the bottle down, patting my chest to try and stop myself from choking. It was bad enough I’d come all the way here with Kyla after she’d broken up with me, but now she’d been given my last name. The torture would never end.

  “You okay?” Eli asked, when after thirty seconds I was still struggling to compose myself. He watched me for a few moments more after I nodded, just to make sure, and then addressed Kyla again. “The most important thing for you out here is your training. I’d like you to come here Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and train with Wesley, and every other night you’ll run. Whether it’s here or in the woods near the school is up to you, though if it’s near the school I’d like you to take someone else along.”

  While Eli explained to Kyla the terms of her being here and the importance of all her training, I took the time to study the kitchen. It was rather large, and everything had been redone since I’d lived here years before. Next to the enormous, new steel refrigerator was a separate, matching freezer. Lining the wall next to the two was a dark granite counter that wrapped around to the adjacent wall, where there was a deep sink underneath a large window to the forest outside. In the wall opposite the refrigerator, beside the bar we were sitting at, there was a large walk-in pantry, which with the door open I could see was filled with all kinds of canned and boxed foods.

  “You ready to go?” Lacey asked as Kyla and Eli’s conversation ended, and she stood to put on the coat she’d been holding in her lap. I nodded while both Kyla and I grabbed our papers, and stood up to follow her out of the kitchen. “I’ll lead and you guys can follow me in your car. Sound good?”

  “When did you get your license?” I asked, eyes brightening with excitement. Lacey had been dying to drive since she was old enough to know what a car was.

  “The very day after I turned sixteen, in June.” Lacey grinned and pushed open the front door of the house, pulling her jacket tighter when the cold air hit her skin.

  Reaching the vehicles, Lacey opened the door to a bright red coupe and laughed at me, because I was gawking. “He did not get that for you,” I sputtered in disbelief.

  She shrugged indifferently, but couldn’t stop a proud smile from widening her mouth ear to ear. “You know my dad. He can’t resist getting his little angel what she wants.” She winked playfully before sliding into the driver’s seat and closing the door.

  I pulled out of the driveway and followed behind Lacey. From Eli’s house, and on roads much like the thickly forested one we’d taken to get to his house in the first place, it was about a twenty-minute drive to the school. Lacey teased along the way by speeding up to lose us, and then slowing down to irritating speeds. It was all fun and games until I mockingly tailgated closely enough for her to become worried about her precious car, at which point she evened out our pace to the speed limit. I’d never been to the Tollbridge Private Academy, and upon arriving at the campus I’d have thought it was a small college. We drove past a large park into a small complex of six five-story buildings arranged in a circle, with small parking lots in between each one. At the center of the circle between all the dorms was a two-story building, where on the first floor and through a large window I could see a bunch of students lounging around.

  “Is this the kind of private school where you have to wear uniforms?” Kyla kept turning her head to look in all directions out the windows.

  I thought back to the times Lacey had
described the school to me. “No. I remember the day Lacey almost died of excitement because uniforms got voted out.”

  “How long have you known her?” Kyla twisted in her seat to lean her back against the window, and her green eyes scanned me curiously.

  “Forever,” I answered honestly, instantly regretting it by the disappointed look on Kyla’s face. “We haven’t actually seen each other in years, but we’d email or talk on the phone every once in a while.”

  “You never mentioned her.” The crestfallen look on Kyla’s face deepened, flushing me with a flurry of guilt. I didn’t have time to tell you much before you broke up with me, I thought defensively, and had to turn away from Kyla’s gaze at the stab of pain it put in my chest.

  “I’m sorry. It really never crossed my mind.” We pulled into a couple of empty parking spots near one of the far buildings, and I avoided eye contact with Kyla at all costs. I could feel that she was still watching me disappointedly.

  “It would just be nice to know who the Alpha’s family is, don’t you think?” She shrugged apathetically to play it off, but it was obvious she was still bothered.

  I sighed silently as she and I got out of the car, not really sure how to deal with my confusion when it came to where we stood. Instead of coming up with a response at all I handed her one of the boxes she’d packed of her stuff, picking up her remaining box and duffel bag myself. “I’ll come back down for my stuff,” I told her after receiving a questioning glance.

  When we met Lacey on the curb in front of our building I handed her Kyla’s duffel bag, and we followed her inside to the elevator. The dormitory buildings were built much like a hotel. The entrance opened up into a lobby, where a staff member manned the front desk checking ID cards. The aroma of various types of food floated down the hall across from the opening of the elevator, and I assumed there was a cafeteria somewhere on the first floor.

  “What’s your room number, Kyla?” The doors of the elevator closed, and Lacey waited patiently for Kyla to reach into her pocket for the piece of paper with her information on it.